Plan for world's biggest offshore wind farm gets green light

SSE has won full planning consent to develop what could be the world's biggest offshore wind project after a long delay that was chiefly due to concerns about the impact on seabirds in the outer Firth of Forth off the East Lothian coast, Scotland.

The Scottish government granted conclusive Section 36 consent for the 4.1GW Berwick Bank offshore wind farm today (Thursday) after a wait of more than two years.

If it proceeds as planned it would be larger than the 3.6GW Dogger Bank currently under construction.

The project had already become eligible to bid in the imminent Allocation Round 7 renewables auction, following a change in rules allowing projects without full consent to participate.

However, obtaining planning permission removes an element of risk for the huge project and will make a bid more likely in a UK auction where the government hopes to allocate record capacity out of more than 22GW from projects eligible to bid.

SSE said delivery of the project will now be subject to the utility securing a contract for new low-carbon offshore wind power under the UK’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, as well as reaching a final investment decision.

"The decision represents the last major consent necessary for the project to proceed and is the culmination of more than a decade of meticulous development work by SSE Renewables on the project’s design," the company stated.

The UK government sees a massive allocation of CfD capacity in AR7 and in next year's AR8 auction as a vital step toward achieving its plans to virtually remove fossil fuels from the grid by 2030.

Its Clean Power 2030 plan means deploying 43-50GW of offshore by the end of the decade, up from around 16GW today.

“The Scottish government’s decision to grant a consent order for Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm is hugely welcome. At over 4GW of potential capacity, Berwick Bank can play a pivotal role in meeting the mission of Clean Power 2030 for the UK and achieving Scotland’s decarbonisation and climate action goals," said Stephen Wheeler, managing director of SSE Renewables.

“SSE now looks forward to the UK Government delivering the most ambitious CfD scheme yet through the upcoming AR7 auction round."

Developed by 100% owner SSE Renewables, the Berwick Bank Wind Farm project previously comprised two separate offshore wind farm proposals, Berwick Bank and Marr Bank.

The two projects were combined into a single 4.1GW renewable energy development opportunity in September 2021 and Section 36 consent application was submitted to the Scottish government in December 2022.

Birds and jobs

SSE secured planning permission for the onshore transmission infrastructure in East Lothian in December 2023 and Northumberland in November 2024.

If developed, the offshore wind farm array will comprise up to 307 offshore wind turbines, with bottom-fixed installation, across a marine area of 1,010 square kilometres.

SSE Renewables said it had conducted comprehensive aerial bird surveys during the development of Berwick Bank.

"The enormous amount of data collected enabled the company’s expert engineers to refine the project proposals to help minimise potential impact on seabirds," the company stated.

SSE said this single project could increase Scotland’s current operational renewable electricity capacity by almost 25%, and has the potential to create 9,300 direct, indirect and induced jobs in the UK at peak construction.

UK energy secretary Ed Miliband, who has sometimes been forced into fighting a rearguard battle against critics of the Clean Power 30 plan, has said projects such as Berwick Bank are fundamental for transferring skills from the North Sea's declining oil and gas fields.

During his visit to Scotland earlier this week, US President Donald Trump told the UK to "get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil".

In a statement today, industry association Energy UK stated: “Building more clean power generation is not only essential for our long-term energy security, we have already seen how offshore wind can positively transform coastal communities.

"Berwick Bank is set to inject billions of pounds into Scotland and the wider economy, and will create thousands of high-quality jobs. Many of these roles will draw on transferable skills from existing industries, and the offshore wind sector has been working closely with the Oil and Gas sector to make these transfers as easy as possible.”